Blogger Roll Call: Pop Culture

I really love reading about pop culture and celebrity goings-ons... I know it's kind of stupid but the topic just makes for some seriously funny blogs. Here are a few of my favorite:

Go Fug Yourself
These two girls mercilessly and hilariously go after the fashion faux-pas of the world's red-carpet-walkers. They have a few pet peeves - leggings as pants, formal shorts, incorrectly hemmed trousers - but can find something to "fug" in just about any outfit. And their ingenious tirades have seriously inspired my own comedic writing.

Stuff White People Like
Before you get your panties in a twist over the title of this blog, please remember it is meant to be satire. The author, Christian, has a razor-sharp wit and keeps coming up with culturally relevant things that white people really seem to love. Maybe the next item on his list should be "White People Love the blog 'Stuff White People Like'."

Best Week Ever
You may be familiar with the similarly-titled tv show on VH1. This is the blog version, and it is magnificent. A pop-culture lover's dream, resplendent with multiple postings a day on internet oddities, musings on music, movies, and tv, and a healthy dose of celebrity mockery. Each of the three editors has their own style - I'm partial to Sara's willingness to post awful pictures of herself and Michelle's made-up-on-the-fly slang and word shortening.

Talitha Koum

When Jesus has again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." So Jesus went with him...

While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher anymore?"

Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe."

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum!" (Which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!") Immediately the girl stood up and walked around...

Mark 5:21-24, 35-42

Christmas By the Numbers

Thirteen family members gathered round... my parents, my sister, my grandpa, Ben's parents, brother, nephew, aunt, uncle, & cousin.

About a Million Christmas cookies eaten by me.

Eight delicious dishes for dinner. Smoked turkey, ham, green beans, corn, salad, rolls, potatoes, and cranberry dressing.

Ten-thousand people over
ten Christmas services over
four days at my parents church.

Twenty seven degrees today... but no snow!

Zero times Ben got on his phone to do work.

Nearly ninety years old for our oldest family member, my Grandpa Jim.

Almost three years old for our youngest Christmas participant, our nephew Logan.

Two-thousand-four-hundred-fifty point spread at the end of our game of Hand & Foot. Ben's mom and I lost.

Just one more Christmas cookie before I go to bed.

Okay, maybe two.

Blogger Roll Call: Friends!

Merry Almost Christmas, everybody! Okay, so today's edition of Blogger Roll Call features a couple of my friends' blogs. No particular unifying feature except I love all these people and they have interesting things to say!


Kali's "Diary of an Oreo Lover" Blog - Kali is my coworker, and she usually has funny stories about her goofy husband or her family adventures, and some sweet and thought-provoking posts about faith too.

Lila's "Nooks & Crannies" Blog - Lila is a dear friend and as of this past weekend, a nurse! Woo! She has some awesome nursing stories on her blog. If you ever wanted to know about evacuating babies from a NICU in pocket-covered vests, she's your girl.

Bethany's "Stars Hollow Texas" Blog - Bethany used to work with me and then she up and moved off to Dallas. She's been using this blog to keep us all posted on her new life in Texas, including being forced into sports fandom, getting her car broken into, and introducing her office to recycling.

Rachel's "Thoughts Meandering" Blog - Rachel doesn't update as often as she should (hint hint girl) but when she does it is awesome. Her posts of the Twilight trailers were largely responsible for me finally caving and reading the books. And the rest, as they say, is history.


Thanks girls for all the great reading! By the way, if any of the rest of you out there have a blog and you want me to read it, I totally will! Just leave the address in the comments.

Blogger Roll Call: Cupcakes & Cake Wrecks

Since the holidays are upon us and I might not be able to write my normal lengthy and thought-provoking (ha) blogs, I thought I'd start a little series which I am titling Blogger Roll Call. This is where I will give a little highlight of one of the blogs I follow and enjoy, and maybe in doing so some of you will discover you want to read them too! I keep a list which you can reference to the right of all these blogs but perhaps they need a little more explanation to get you interested.

So without further ado, I present the first edition of Blogger Roll Call, featuring Cake Wrecks and Cupcakes Take the Cake! I lumped these two together because they both deal with delicious baked goods, albeit in two very different ways.

Cupcakes Take the Cake celebrates the delicious beauty of cupcakes. The pictures on this blog are amazing - these cupcakes are literally tiny visual masterpieces.

These cupcake-lovin' ladies also post recipes and links to fancy cupcakeries all over the country. Before I read this blog, I would never have dreamed it was possible to create a vegan cupcake. I mean, I'll probably never actually do this, seeing as how things I love includes milk, eggs, and butter, but still. Good to know!

Cake Wrecks, as the name might imply, takes things in a whole new direction. Six days of the week, she posts submitted "wrecks" - professionally made cakes that are hideously ugly, poorly done, or have hilariously mangled inscriptions.

It is almost too good to be true that such monstrosities exist. BUT THEY DO. On Sundays, she provides a little break from the insanity and showcases "Sunday Sweets" - beautiful and cream of the crop custom cakes made by inventive and artistic bakers.

Both of these are a fun and delightful read, especially if you love baking and sweet treats as much as I do!

Italian Cream Cupcakes

Last night was my first ever attempt at piping icing onto cupcakes. To say that I was thrilled with the outcome is an understatement. They turned out BEAUTIFULLY!!! Direct quote I made to Ben: "I could bear children less beautiful than these cupcakes."

These are Italian Cream Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. The first round I put way too much batter in the cups and they baked out over the top. Still yummy, but really messy and ugly. Take two was much better and those got the special icing treatment.

I'm totally adding an icing bag and tools to my Christmas list. (I used the empty powdered sugar bag with the corner cut off... effective but not exactly reusable.)

And now, just because I'm obsessed, a few more pictures of their loveliness. They got an indoor and an outdoor photo shoot...

Why I Love My Coworkers

Yesterday at the good ole GMA we took our staff Christmas picture. And whereas most offices might have been satisfied to stop with this:

...we took it one step further. And that step was called "Jazz Hands."

Pay no attention to Josh there in the front, ruining the photo with his not-jazz-hands. He claimed that he didn't really think everyone was going to do it. Except EVERYONE DID.

What a blessing these nuts are in my life. Because even on days when I don't like my job very much, I always love my coworkers. And considering we spend a lot of time together, I'd say that is a very good thing.

Things My Children Will Never Do, #193

Scene:

{int. Olive Garden restaurant; crowded with people waiting for tables}

HEATHER: Oh my gosh, that kid almost punched his dad in the crotch.

{Jon, Ben & Amy turn their heads to see child, apx. 8 years old, in confrontation with his father. They overhear and observe...}

OBSCENELY BRATTY YET ADMITTEDLY ARTICULATE CHILD: Get your hands off me!

DAD: ...

O.B.Y.A.A.C.: I'm gonna punch you! I already told you twice!

DAD: ...

O.B.Y.A.A.C.: What more do you want from me?!

DEFEATED LOOKING MOM BEING CLIMBED ON BY TWO DAUGHTERS: ...

DAD: ...

{Fade out.}

______________________________

No, seriously. That happened. We watched it go down this past weekend when we went to Olive Garden with J&H. Shocked, the four of us discussed how we would have been bodily carried from the restaurant by our parents at the first shade of such behavior. And honestly, I wouldn't ever have even dreamed to talk to my parents that way, let along take a swing at one of them. I guess, I... I don't know, respected them?! Shocking! On the one hand, I felt bad for his parents, but on the other... good grief, how regular an occurrence is his behavior that it literally warranted ZERO reaction from them? The dad was restraining the kid's hands and I guess he was telling him to stop it, but... just... wow.

So, added to the list of things my children will never do (have a computer in their room, enter child beauty pageants, become Cubs fans) is threaten me with physical violence in the lobby of an Olive Garden.

Although, upside to the situation, we walked away with a sweet new catchphrase: "I'm gonna punch you. I already told you twice." To be used in an enraged voice for mock-threats. Ex:

"Ben, take out the trash or I'm gonna punch you. I already told you twice."

Can I Get One More Boomer Sooner!?!

This weekend an extra-adorable-looking Sam Bradford became the second sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy award. I figure he earned it, what with breaking about a jillion individual and team records this season. The wunderkind QB of the Oklahoma Sooners was nominated alongside Big XII rival (and good buddy) Colt McCoy of Texas, as well as the 2007 Heisman winner, all-around good guy Tim Tebow of Florida. Who was wearing a very shiny and dapper looking blue three-piece suit, I might add.

Bradford, Tebow, & McCoy... don't worry, that cast is on his non-throwing hand and expected to come off before the title game....

Anyway, it was a treat to see him win! I read this really cool article about how many of the Native American kids in Oklahoma look up to Bradford as a role model - and no community could use such an example more.

On a lighter note, won't it be exciting to watch Bradford and Tebow face off in the big game? Of course I want my Sooners to win, but I know whatever happens, we'll be in for some great football. In conclusion, this will be my last Oklahoma Sooner football related post of 2008. Hopefully the next time you hear from me on this subject it will be a victorious-sounding entry on January 8th right after we win the National Championship game!

Let it Snow!

Ah, snow. I know it is something most people down here in the South could do without. Even the hint of flurries is enough to keep kids home from school and send drivers into a panic. Still, being a daughter of the Midwest, I miss white drifts up to my knees and snowballs and sledding and cold red cheeks and the dangerous beauty of ice-encrusted trees.

So when wintery weather comes to us here in Middle Tennessee, even though it pales in comparison to the snows of my childhood, I'll take what I can get. And last night's storm definitely counts. It was blustery and sleeting and then the sky sent down those fat wet snowflakes that stick to everything. It snowed for a few hours, and then it got really cold and everything froze solid.

And when I awoke this morning, I peered out the window and God was there. He looked a lot like a winter wonderland all a-glow from a newly stretching sunrise, but I'm pretty sure it was Him, being all breathtaking and beautiful and making me love Him for waking me up.

It takes a lot to pry me from my warm bed in the wee hours of the morning. This sunrise had me leaping into Ben's coat and boots and dashing, pajama-clad, into the yard to take these pictures.

There was a clarity to the cold, and something invigorating about the smell of fresh snow. It was like awakening to a world undisturbed... It was, in a word, lovely.

I'm Not A Trekkie.

I just wanted to make that clear. I've never been to a convention, worn a costume, read the books, or learned to speak Klingon. I don't know the history of the Enterprise or how all the many manifestations of the Star Trek universe fit together.

That distinction aside, however, I am a fan of Star Trek, albeit a casual one. Here's why.

See, one of my fondest childhood memories is curling up next to my dad on the couch while he watched Star Trek. He was always a sci-fi fan, my dad - from him I learned to love Douglas Adams, Ray Bradbury, and the X-Files. While he'd watched the original Star Trek show in the 60s, he raised me on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Each week we joined our beloved crew - Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Riker, Geordi, Data, Worf, Counselor Troi - aboard the USS Enterprise for another episode of intergalactic goodness. I still remember bits and pieces of my favorite episodes... I think I even saw one or two of the movies.

So even though I haven't watched an episode of Star Trek in probably 15 years, I still geeked out a little when I learned that J.J. Abrams (oh, he who brought us the trifecta of awesomeness that is Lost-Alias-Felicity) was directing a new Star Trek film. And I geeked out even more when I saw the trailer in all its big-screen-glory before the new Bond movie a few weeks ago:




See, it looks kind of awesome, right?! No? Anyone?

Well, if nothing else I'm pretty sure my dad will go with me...

O Tannenbaum!

I'm so excited it is Christmas tree time! The choosing and decorating and enjoying of the Christmas tree has always been an important family tradition for me, and it is something I'm happy to carry on in my own home. We've gotten three pretty cute trees over the years we've been married. Here they are in sequential order:

In the McMinn house, we always had a real Christmas tree. Sure they are messy and more trouble than an artifical one, but I just want the lovely imperfection and wonderful scent that comes with a real tree. I'm not knocking the alternative, but in my house I just can't imagine anything different.

My parents are notorious for going... large when it comes to their tree. They always say, "This year we're cutting back and not going to get such a big tree" and then I come home for the first time and an enormous Douglas fir has taken over a quarter of the living room. I'm talking twelve and thirteen footers. Including one that had to be anchored into the wall because it fell over twice. Here is a picture where you can see a portion of the tree from last year. The size of the fireplace in relation should tell you something about how huge the tree was.

The tree at home is always decorated with colored lights and plastic popcorn-&-cranberries garland that we have had, literally, for as long as I remember. Then it gets covered tip to trunk with a completely random and uncoordinated array of decorations. No fancy matching globes and beaded garland. Just old ornaments and craft projects from my sister's and my childhood, little pretties and gifts from across the years. And I love it all.

I especially love a little tradition passed down from my mother and her sisters to me. There is a special beauty of a lit Christmas tree that can only be appreciated by the nearly blind - to gaze upon its loveliness in a darkened room without the aid of your glasses or contacts. The glow of each individual bulb swells to enormous proportions, creating a fuzzy colored patchwork of overlapping light rings - pink and blue and gold and green and red. It is magnificant. I found this picture online, which is a pretty decent approximation of the actual experience:

Anyway, all this was stirring around in my mind because Ben & I are planning to pick out our tree tonight. I can't wait to bust out all my decorations and put on some Christmas music and usher in the season by putting up our own lovely tannenbaum. I'll be sure to post a pic of the finished project soon!

To Hear the Angels Sing

I have mentioned before here when I've blogged about music that I love when an artist redoes a familiar song in a way that makes it new again. This has been true for me on numerous occassions with hymns, and I find it especially powerful for Christmas hymns.

On the one hand, the familiarity of Christmas hymns is part of their charm. They haven't changed; their words and melodies ring true as ever and usher in the anticipation of the season. But on the other hand, they are in danger of becoming meaningless, as the words tumble over our lips without much thought to what they mean anymore. The wonder and captivating beauty of what the songs are celebrating gets lost somehow.

So I wanted to share today how one such song became new to me again. I was never a big fan of "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" anyway - the melody is kind of awkward and gets really high, and it just didn't pack the emotional punch of some of my favorites. But yesterday I was listening to Sara Groves' new Christmas album and her version of the song totally captured my attention. By the end I was crying, overcome by the lovely old words and the sweet hope they proclaimed.

You must listen to Sara's version of the song on her myspace page. Click the link and then in the music player select the Christmas album and find "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." I hope it moves you as it did me. Here are the beautiful lyrics to the hymn in case you need a reminder.

It came upon a midnight clear

That glorious song of old

From angels bending near the earth

To touch their harps of gold;

“Peace on the earth, good will to men,

From Heaven’s all gracious King.”

The world in solemn stillness lay,

To hear the angels sing.

And ye beneath life’s crushing load,

Whose forms are bending low,

Who toil along the climbing way

With painful steps and slow,

Look now! for glad and golden hours

Come swiftly on the wing.

O rest beside the weary road,

And hear the angels sing!

Still through broken skies they come

With peaceful wings unfurled,

And still their heavenly music floats

O’er all the weary world.

Above its sad and lowly plains,

They bend on hovering wing,

And ever over its Babel sounds

The blessèd angels sing.

What a beautiful message! So many centuries ago, the angels spilled forth from heaven to proclaim the good news - not just that Jesus was born, but that God desired to reconcile with His children. They sing it still, o'er all the weary world, above our noise and fear and sadness, if only we will listen. We have such a great hope. Look now! Our salvation comes, riding on the dawn...

Thanksgiving Weekend Recap

My Thanksgiving weekend was a little non-traditional. Since Ben's ability to take vacation time is somewhat limited, we decided to take advantage of a sure-thing-four-day-weekend and get out of town. Just the two of us. It was our first trip like that since our honeymoon three and a half years ago! So while we forfeited our typical trip home to St. Louis to see family, we tried to incorporate some of the Thanksgiving standards like food and football...

Thursday we left Nashville and headed east towards Asheville... you wouldn't believe the confusion that caused people when we told them about our trip, since those two words obviously sound a lot alike! We occupied ourselves during the drive by listening to all the songs on my iPod in alphabetical order. When we got bored with that (around letter D) we switched to listening to episodes of Arrested Development, which was quite entertaining.

We arrived after a twisting and turning drive through the mountains to our destination: the Inn on Mill Creek, a bed & breakfast in Black Mountain, NC. We would highly recommend it if you are interested in staying in that area! It was really secluded... so much so that instead of a street address we had to put the longitude/latitude coordinates into our GPS to get there! Dave & Brigette, the innkeepers, were really great and so helpful. Plus Dave's breakfasts were delicious!

That night we had a proper Thanksgiving dinner at another local B&B that has a restaurant. There was turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots, pumpkin pie - the works. We definitely didn't miss out in the food department!

Over the next couple days we had fun exploring Black Mountain and Asheville. While in the area we visited the famous Biltmore Estate, the largest private home ever constructed in the United States. It was built in the late 1890s by heir to the Vanderbilt fortunes. It was interesting and beautiful, although crowded and a little touristy.
We had more fun taking silly pictures outside on the beautiful terrace as the sun was setting...
We had a fun day in Asheville after we finished at the Biltmore. We googled "best burger in Asheville" and were directed by our GPS way across town to a hole-in-the-wall joint called Burgermeister. No, really. We were a little skeptical as we wove through some sketchy looking parts of town, but we ended up in a neighborhood called West Asheville, full of funky shops and cool finds. And Burgermeister delivered. If you know me, you know I am not a big red meat girl. No real reason - I'm not offended by the eating of cows, but I just prefer chicken. But when you go to a place called Burgermeister and it is advertised as the best burger in town... well, you know what they say. When in Rome...

I swear to you after eating this delicious burger I could feel my body respond, thanking me profusely for the intake of iron. I felt stronger... I now had the strength of a grown human and a bit of cow. (Ahem, Dwight Schrute reference.)

After we rolled out of there and stopped at some of the shops, it was cold and icky and rainy and we decided to go see a movie. Ben oh-so-graciously accompanied me to see Twilight. I loved it even more the third (yes, third, don't judge me!) time around and to my surprise and delight Ben said he liked it too! Most of that can probably be contributed to the fact that he likes ME and is a good husband, but still. I'll take what I can get, and if he says he liked it then I'll believe him!

Saturday night we holed up in our room and watched the OU-OSU game. It was a nail-biter at times but my Sooners were victorious, winning 61-41. With their win, the three-way tie for the Big XII South was in place, and I had to wait until Sunday afternoon when the BCS standings were released to find out that OU was officially headed to the conference championship game to face Mizzou! I know a lot of people were disappointed in the way things turned out and believed that Texas earned the shot at the title by beating OU on neutral ground in the Red River game. Of course I disagree and would argue that OU's margin of victory in defeating ranked opponents is enough merit. But either way it is decided now and I am ecstatic that we will get our chance to win the Big XII and go to the National Championship game! Boomer Sooner!

As if all that wasn't enough excitement, we ended our Thanksgiving weekend by rushing back to Nashville through awful rain and traffic to get to the Ryman Auditorium in time to catch the Jason Mraz concert.

It was a fun show - very high energy and lots of crowd interaction. I was especially impressed with Lisa Hannigan, who was his opening act. She is an Irish musician probably best known for her vocals on many Damien Rice songs. She has a beautiful voice and played lots of interesting instruments in cool arrangements. But once again my concert experience was slightly marred by an annoying drunken person. This time it was a hippie dippy lush seated next to Ben... well, seated isn't the right term, considering she spent the entire concert dancing awkwardly and flailing around spilling beer on people. She also was trying to hang all over and sort-of flirt with Ben, for which I served her up a few dirty looks laced with the clear message of "Keep your damn drunken hands off my man." Ugh. Ben handled it nicely; he has lots of experience with that sort of person from his many stints at Bonarroo!

Anyway, aside from that it was a fun show and a great end to a rather nice holiday weekend!

Baz Movie Mania

Baz Luhrmann

Over the past few weeks I've rediscovered my love for all things Baz Luhrmann. If you aren't familiar, Baz is the visionary director behind...

These three movies, referred to as his "Red Curtain Trilogy," showcase the wonderful, whimsical world of Baz. Each film uses a specific creative expression to tell the story - dance in Strictly Ballroom, the poetic words of Shakespeare in Romeo + Juliet, and music in Moulin Rouge. I love each one for the way the most elemental and basic love stories are infused with beauty and emotion, saturated with color and modernity. Fran & Scott dancing wordlessly, back lit behind the curtain. Romeo clutching the barrel of Tybalt's gun to his forehead, screaming "Either thou or I or both must go with him." Christian cradling Satine's dying body surrounded by rose petals while the unsuspecting crowd cheers on. To me, this is the very best sort of storytelling - a heightened version of the most real and simple archetypes and emotions. Baz's films are transporting, imaginative, impossible. I love that!

This weekend his latest and most ambitious film opens, the sweeping period epic Australia.

The movie, set in and about Baz' home country and starring Australian actors Hugh Jackman & Nicole Kidman, seems poised to be for the Land Down Under what Gone With the Wind was for the deep South. I can't wait to see how Baz applies his exuberant and over-the-top film making to a movie like this.

It's been a fun time to be a movie lover! First Bond, then Twilight (twice in 48 hours), and this weekend another great movie to look forward to. See you at the theater!

Boomer Sooner, Baby!

Last night the Sooners officially put the smack down on previously unbeaten Texas Tech, beating them 65-21. And that is the score of a football game, not basketball. OU scored 35 points in the second quarter alone.

Coach Stoops (who is now 60-2 at Norman with a 24 home-game winning streak) and the boys were in rare form, with their defense amped up to match their typical high-strung offense. The 85,000 strong crowd in the stadium was deafeningly helpful in its enthusiasm as Bradford and company ran and threw the ball all over the Red Raiders.

This picture is kind of what the whole game was like...

OU scoring touchdowns with Tech players laying around helplessly on the field.

The most interesting part is that this sets up a three-way tie for the Big XII South between OU, Tech, and Texas. Each team has the identical conference record with one loss apiece - OU fell to Texas, Texas fell to Tech, and Tech lost to OU. With one more week to go, if all three win next weekend, the league will be forced to rely on BCS standings to break the tie and determine which of the three will head to the Big XII Championship game against Mizzou. And of course, chances are good the winner of that game will be headed to Miami for the National Championship game.



In a nutshell, what a fabulous time to be a Sooner fan. Here's looking forward to an important road game next week against in-state rivals (and still ranked) Oklahoma State!

And One Thing I Forgot

This morning as I drove to work I realized I had neglected one very, very important item that I love very, very much on my list yesterday. So consider this the 101st thing I like...

101. My car has seat warmers

Car seat warmers are the types of things that I have always considered frivolous and rather stupid. But all those thoughts go flying out the window on frigid November mornings when the warmth radiating out of the leather and all through my backside is maybe the most blissful part of my day. Plus, those seat warmers nursed me through months of excruciating back pain, like a toasty little heating pad form-fitted to my lumbar region. Mmmmmm.

So thank you, Toyota, for putting seat warmers in the design of your 2003 Highlanders. My butt is eternally, cozily grateful.

100th Post! 100 Things I Like...

This is my 100th post on this blog! Little did I know all those years ago that I would be having this much fun sharing all my random thoughts with the world... or at least with my mom and the five other people who regularly read this blog.

I decided I would do a post about 100 random things I like... in no order, no rhyme or reason... These are not my top 100 things, or an exhaustive list of things I like. I just typed out everything as it came to me, and sometimes saying one thing I liked made me think of something else. Also I did some linking in case you like these things too.

Now on to the list!

1. Sleeping with lots of pillows
2. Baby name books
3. Libraries
4. Popcorn at the movie theater
5. Writing blogs
6. Shel Silverstein
7. Swimming
8. Artisan & Craft fairs
9. Leggings
10. Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
11. Red airheads
12. Getting stupid-excited about the Twilight movie
13. Kristin Wiig on SNL
14. Driving
15. Chubby cheeks on babies
16. Scalding-hot showers
17. Really bright red fall trees
18. Taking pictures
19. Target
20. Shredding papers
21. Guinea pigs
22. The music of Leeland, especially "Sound of Melodies"
23. Watching figure skating
24. My graphic designers I work with
25. Cookies & Cream icecream from Braum's
26. Snow
27. The really snarky writing on Gossip Girl
28. Exclamation points
29. Writing and receiving real letters
30. When Heather calls at 9 pm and asks if I want to go to Sonic
31. The movie "Can't Hardly Wait"
32. Estee Lauder's Beautiful Sheer & Ralph Lauren Romance perfumes
33. Garth Brooks
34. Hugging my dad after I haven't seen him in a long time
35. Acoustic guitar driven music
36. Celebrity gossip
37. Scruffy and how cute he is
38. The St. Louis Zoo
39. LOST
40. Daydreaming of working for a really cool company like Google or Pixar
41. T-shirts with pockets
42. Fresh flowers
43. Calvin & Hobbes
44. Knowing all the words to Kanye West's "Golddigger"
45. Re-reading books I love
46. The words to hymns
47. Michaelangelo's Pieta
48. Holidays
49. Having parties at my house
50. 1 John 3:1
51. Horses
52. Going to art museums and remembering all the art history I learned
53. Apples with peanut butter
54. My momma
55. Traveling to new places
56. Being barefoot
57. Getting a haircut
58. Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Panera
59. Baz Luhrmann movies
60. The city of Chicago
61. Cello
62. Being goofy with Ben
63. Scrapbooking
64. Shopping for scrapbooking stuff
65. Potatoes
66. Children's books
67. Going to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game in Busch Stadium
68. Headbands
69. Cute flat shoes
70. Quoting shows and movies I love
71. Steve Carell
72. Purple irises
73. My red purse
74. When kids say funny things
75. French fries from Kriegers with extra seasoning
76. Mountains
77. Doing laundry
78. Being "outdoorsy" through kayaking
79. When people have a funny laugh
80. Office supplies
81. My friend Rob & his family
82. Jason Mraz
83. Watching college football
84. Finding people on Facebook and looking at their pictures
85. When Jesus heals the little girl in Mark 5
86. The smell of outside in the spring
87. Milk
88. When my whole family is together at Christmas
89. Wearing jeans
90. Nicknames
91. Reading in the bathroom
92. Chips and cheese dip
93. Falling asleep to rain and thunder
94. Mark Rothko's color field paintings
95. Looking at beautiful wedding pictures
96. The X-Files
97. Getting a pedicure
98. Needtobreathe
99. Natural lighting
100. Taking naps

A Little Friday Randomness

Song that makes me drive like an insane person

I love driving on the highway to tobyMac's "The Slam." Especially in Ben's little Honda Fit. I can't help going crazy fast and weaving in and out of traffic like I'm in a movie car chase scene when that song comes on. Man! So I try not to listen to it very often, because I have a perfect driving record to maintain.

Color I am digging right now

I have purchased about 5 purple shirts and sweaters in the past few months. Just yesterday at Target I got this super deep indigo sweater. Love it. Next I would like to get some crazy adorable purple accessories... like headbands and gloves and some shoes.

Funnest Ads of the Season

I got the recent issue of Vanity Fair and it had a huge spread of Gap's adorable winter ads featuring a super random assortment of celebrities all bundled up in Gap's traditionally colorful sweaters and scarves. They have done a similar campaign for the past couple years and I love it. The ads are cute and funny and happy and warm and very Gap. The one with the SNL guys? Perfection. And, PS, Jason Sudekis is pretty good lookin'. Oh, and the one with Jason Bateman and his precious daughter? Too cute. And, PS, Jason Bateman is very good lookin'.

And, let's face it, these ads are doing their job. Because I haven't been in a Gap in years but this totally makes me want to go buy a scarf. Maybe they have a purple one.

Twilight in the Sunlight

So I promise this post is less about my Twilight obsession and more about my love of beautiful photography. In the new issue of Vanity Fair they did a story on the Twilight phenomenon and it was accompanied by the most breathtaking photographs. Principle stars Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, along with the rest of the cast, were shot at a farm near LA by photographer Peggy Sirota. It's sort of a basic concept - put pretty people in a sunny field and they're going to look good - but the lighting she captured as the sun was behind them is so magnificant. Here were a few of my favorites:

Everything is just bathed in this warm golden sunlight, and I love it. Looking at these I can practically feel the warmth of the sun and smell that dry grassy earthy scent of outdoors in the afternoon. The styling is great too - love the color palette, love her dress with the Chucks. The whole vibe of the photos is so classic and Americana... and makes me want to go take pictures in a sunny field.

Of course it is cloudy today, and cold, and raining, and also I don't have the gorgeous cast of a major motion picture on hand to shoot so... maybe some other time.

Click here to see the rest of the Vanity Fair shoot and outtakes.

FujiAppleChickenLove

It is BACK! My salad is back! Thank you Panera, from the bottom of my hungry heart.

I love it so much. I guarantee you I will eat it at least once a week until they take it away again.

At Long Last: Sleeping at Last

It is pretty late so forgive me if this is a less than eloquently written entry. But I couldn't NOT write about the concert I was just at while it was so fresh in my mind, so here goes.

If you've ever listened to anything I've ever said on this blog ever, listen to this: Sleeping at Last is a band you should know - and once you know them, one you will love.

Two brothers and their friend, all hailing from the Chicago area, make up the trio that is Sleeping at Last. I hardly believed there were only three of them in the group until I saw them in person. They just produce so much sound for so few people! Of course by "sound" I mean so much more than noise. Their songs are lush, rich, full. The band members themselves are industrious, with the lead singer switching back and forth between keys and guitar (at one point playing both on the same song, I kid you not) and the bassist/keyboardist/looper/pedal pusher doing so many things at once I lost count. The drummer kept himself busy too, at several intervals shaking his little heart out with one hand and knocking the snot out of the toms with the other.

The best part about this show was that they were joined by a guest string quintet. The band uses a lot of orchestration on their cd and to hear the full effect with the strings live was unreal.

And the craziest part? These guys could not look less like rock stars. I present you Exhibit A, the lead singer:

I dare you to envision what you think his voice might sound like and then go visit their MySpace page and listen to some of their songs. He is so unassuming looking - like any random baby-faced twenty-something you might pick out of a coffee shop - and then he opens his mouth and out comes this insanely unique and lovely voice.

Did you think I was done gushing yet? Well too bad because we're just getting to the good stuff - their lyrics! The songwriting is so different - he finds this way to string together all these really great, unique and visual words in a subtly striking way. And then, as if sounding cool wasn't enough, the words have such great - even worshipful - meaning. So I'll leave you with the words from one of my favorite songs, Needle & Thread. And for the love of all that is good, just go listen to their music okay? I'll loan you my CD.

Needle & Thread

When the world welcomes us in
We're closer to Heaven than we'll ever know
They say this place has changed
But strip away all of the technology
And you will see
That we all are hunters
Hunting for something that will make us okay.

Here we lay alone in hospital beds
Tracing life in our heads
But all that is left
Is that this was our entrance and now it's our exit
As we find our way home

All the blood and all the sweat
That we invested to be loved
Follows us into our end
Where we begin to understand
That we are made of love
And all the beauty stemming from it
We are made of love
And every fracture caused by the lack of it

"You were a million years of work,"
Said God and His angels, with needle and thread.
They kissed your head and said,
"You're a good kid and you make us proud.
So just give your best and the rest will come,
And we'll see you soon."

All the blood and all the sweat
That we invested to be loved
Follows us into our end,
Where we begin to understand

That maybe Hollywood was right:
When the credits have rolled and the tears have dried,
The answers that we have been dying to find
Are all pieced together and, somehow,
Made perfectly mine.

We are made of love,
And all the beauty stemming from it.
We are made of love,
And every fracture caused by the lack of love.

Water Weirdo

As I sit here at my desk, I have within arm's reach no fewer than three individual cups filled with assorted levels of water. This is because I am insane.

No really. If you go to my house you will notice the same thing. When I do the dishes I always have to walk all over the house collecting my many half-full glasses of water. I have no idea why I do this, although Ben and I compare it to the little girl in the movie Signs. So I suppose if aqua-phobic aliens invade Earth my little quirk might come in handy.

My only other explanation is that I like to drink water when it is cold, but I also drink it slowly. This means that often the water is room-temperature and I still have half a glass left. Which I then leave strewn about on some flat surface and help myself to another glass. Why not just dump that glass out and fill it with fresh cold water? I have no idea. Like I said, insane.

How to Make a Pot Roast

I am a person who likes to cook and loves to bake. With baking, I am becoming more and more willing to take some risks and try more difficult and challenging recipes. Last week, for example, I made something brand new from a recipe book - Pumpkin Apple Spice Muffins. I don't like pumpkin and I don't like cooked apples but surprise, they were YUMMY. In fact, some people asked about that one so I will try to remember to post the recipe later.

With cooking, however, I am so picky and cheap that I like to stick with tried and true recipes and ingredients. Pasta with meat sauce? Check. Baked chicken w/ steamed veggies? Check. Tacos? Check. Chili? Double check, I make one tasty turkey chili.

And pot roast? Well, pot roast gets a triple check. Because, literally, it might be the easiest meal to make and the one with the least potential for screwing it up. And that, my friends, is my kind of dinner.

Here's what I did.

1. Get up in the morning and get out my big ole crock pot.
2. Put the pot roast meat in the pot.
3. Stab meat in a few places with knife, rub with minced garlic and poke some in the holes I stabbed.
4. Sprinkle one packet of Lipton Onion Soup mix on top.
5. Pour one can of Cream of Mushroom soup on top.
6. Fill just-emptied soup can w/ water, pour that over the top of everything.
7. Arrange hunks of potato and carrot over and around meat. You can do onions too, I guess, if you're into that kind of thing.
8. Cover crock pot. Leave for work, school, life, whatever. Come back in 8 hours.
9. Remove lid. Scoop out food and pour the leftover gravy stuff on top.
10. Eat.

Bonus steps:
11. Say "mmmm, yummy" while eating.
12. Save a little bit of leftovers for lunch the next day.

Please

Oh God
I'm just a fool
And today I am bound up in all my insufferable humanity
It clings to everything I touch
Culture-numbed, world-weary
I take delight in all the things I hate
And I am utterly unable to manifest a desire to seek Your face.

But my name is written on Your heart, hallelujah
I can't help but believe in You
Please tell me that counts for something.

Observations from a Long Drive

Yesterday I drove myself home from St. Louis to Nashville. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and I had a good six hours to myself. Well, Scruffy was in the car with me but he's not much for conversation. So I listened to all the music I wanted to and came up with some very random observations which I will share with you now.

***

1. Heartland
There is something really spectacular about rolling fields of wheat and corn and how it all glows and moves under fall sun and wind. Green and gold and brown, just folding out in squares across the landscape, dotted with a farm here, a little pond there...

When my sister was younger, she had this fascination with running in a field. Every time we passed an open pasture area she would sigh and say how she wished Dad would stop the car so she could just go run in that field. Yesterday, driving under an open sky of brilliant blue and through the beauty of the American Heartland, I totally know what she meant.

2. Airheads
I really love Airheads candy. This is odd because I am not a fan of fruity candies usually, and I don't really like taffy or anything like that. But I love Airheads. I could eat about a hundred red ones and still want more.


3. "Stand By Me," sung by Ben E. King
I decided after listening to it for the millionth time that "Stand By Me" is one of the greatest love songs ever. It is utterly simple - the words, the instrumentation, the structure. But good grief is it romantic - and even a little sexy, with the "bum, bum, ba-da bum bum" rhythm. Stand by me, no matter what else happens, and we'll be okay. Man, that's good stuff.

4. National Dead Deer Weekend?
I don't know what the deal was, but yesterday I saw probably - no exaggeration - more than 15 deer and/or partial deer carcasses lining the highway across my 300 mile drive. In my nearly eight years of driving back and forth between Nashville and STL I have never experienced this. One dead deer laying by the side of the road, unpleasant but it happens. But halves of deers and decapitated deers and bloody smears formerly known as deers... ugh. It got to be really gross and had me wondering what was going on with the deer population's sudden and tragic love affair with my particular stretch of highway?!

5. Vampire Weekend
I had Ben load their much-ballyhooed debut album up on my iPod and around Paducah decided to have a listen...

I give them an "A" for interesting instrumentation and a creative different sound. I give them a C- for how much I actually liked the album. I listened to at least 30-seconds of every track... unfortunately it was often because I could only stand 30 seconds at a time. After the hundredth repetition of a kooky staccato riff I just couldn't take it any more. I did like some of the string sections.

6. Cello
The cello is my all-time favorite instrument. It is so powerfully emotive - subtle, almost an undercurrent in many songs, but totally shouldering the weight of moving and feeling. Fun fact: my husband Ben played the cello for seven years growing up. Even now when he plays guitar he moves his fingers like he is playing the cello. But, despite the fact that it is my favorite thing, despite years of begging, he has never once played the cello for me. He claims he doesn't remember. I think he is a big fat mean liar.

7. How Did I Get to Be So Old
At the wedding I was in this weekend, we reminisced about how the couple had gone to the Homecoming dance together our freshman year of high school. I was stunned when someone mentioned, "Who would've thought eleven years ago we'd be here now celebrating their wedding." Woah woah woah. Do you mean to tell me it has been ELEVEN YEARS since I was a high school freshman?!!?! (Silent mental calculations...) But that means... I. Am. Old.

I thought about that for a good while in the car. Being a grown up. Shudder.

8. Names
I think it is cute when girls named Charlotte are called Charlie. I'm thinking of using it in a story I'm writing.

***

And that, my dear readers, is a glimpse into what I think about and do while on a solo six hour car ride. Fascinating, I know.

Monday Night: Battle of the Chucks

In one corner, we have Chuck Bass, who alongside his sometimes love/all-the-times nemesis Blair Waldorf, is the real star of the WB's deliciously bad Gossip Girl.

In the other corner, we have Chuck Bartowski, the adorabley geeky accidental spy after whom NBC's action-comedy Chuck is named.

Two shows. One timeslot - 7 pm, Monday nights. Only one TiVo.

What's a couple to do? Ben and I came to the difficult decision that we would TiVo Chuck since we (oh yes, he likes it too) could watch Gossip Girl online. But I made sure to put in a clause that stated that if I happened to get home on time I could watch GG live from the other TV.

And thank goodness for that, because last night both our Chucks were in fine form. Mr. Bass was showing his softer side, overcoming Blair's straight-from-Cruel-Intentions schemes and looking suave in his typically insane outfits to boot. Over on channel 4, Mr. Bartowski was HI-larious... maybe the funniest episode yet for the show. Plus, there were guest roles by Nicole Ritchie and - wait for it - CORY from Boy Meets World (actual name Ben Savage). If only they'd gotten Topanga, too...

It's Like Regular Kayaking, But Less Fun

This Saturday, my friends and I invented a new sport. We call it "hikaking." Hikaking is like regular kayaking except instead of paddling happily down the river you spend half your time hiking through knee deep cold water dragging your boat across slippery rocks. It's about as awesome as it sounds.

We intended to spend the brisk and sunny fall morning doing a short run of river near Murfreesboro - a little over 6 miles, which, according to the book, should have taken us about three and a half hours.

It took us over six.

It was supposed to be cool - we dressed accordingly - but sunny. And for part of the trip it was. How refreshing, to be outside in the beautiful fall weather! The water was clear and we spotted fish, turtles, a snake, and maybe possibly an otter-type creature.

But a few hours in and suddenly the sun was gone, obscured by a sky full of fat clouds, a few of which threatened rain. Practically everyone was wet to the waist with cold clingy clothes. The injuries were mounting - a bruised tailbone, blistering hands, a bloodied knee (that one was me). The effort it took to dislodge your boat from its perch on yet another rock seemed overwhelming. Around literally every bend we were crushed to discover not the bridge that signaled the end of our journey but just... more... river...

The camraderie of paddling as a pack gave way to the efficiency of desperation as we split up, sending a pair ahead each time to scout out what awaited us and then direct the other boats through the trecherous waters.

But we survived, somehow, as evidenced by the fact that I am here to recount the story for you. On the back end of the trip, I can say I'm glad we did it. As an utterly non-adventurous and non-outdoorsy type of person, it feels kinda cool to have this story to tell. And I feel a little sense of pride at my gnarly knee wound which must be explained with something a little more exciting than, "I fell down."

Nope, this time it is more like, "I fell down... while dragging my kayak across jagged slick river rocks after hours of hikaking. My knee was totally dripping blood. I had to dig some rock fragments out of it. It was awesome. Wanna see?"

PS. My friend Lila who was there wrote a post about our trip as well... she posted some of our pictures too. Click here to read her version!

Salad Love

It is a fact well-known by many people (especially my coworkers) that last year I fell in love. It was unexpected, but I couldn't help myself. After the first rendevous, I was hooked. Soon, the whole world knew about my love affair, since I flaunted it openly - and practically daily.

I'm speaking, of course, of the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad from Panera.

It was divine, blissful even. For someone who only decided in the past few years to start eating salad, I never thought I would find one I loved quite so much. But crisp field greens, crunchy pecans, tangy gorganzola cheese, tender chicken, and candy-like dried apple slices combined for the most heavenly salad this world has ever seen.

And then, as quickly as our affair had begun, it was over. In a cold, calculated move aimed, I'm convinced, directly at me, Panera took the Fuji Apple Chicken Salad off the menu. Sometime last spring, it was just... gone. GONE.

All summer I basically rejected Panera. I had the occassional bowl of soup or panini, but inside I was harboring anger and bitterness. What right did they have to take my love away?!

Recently they added a new salad, the Orchard Harvest salad. At first I rejected Panera's attempt to woo me back with this offering. One day, desperate to feel something - anything - again, I caved. I was presented with a bowl full of lettuce, pecans, gorgonzola cheese... this was looking familiar. Sure, the apple and chicken had been replaced with dried cherries and fresh cut pear, but there was enough similarities to pique my interest.

Orchard Harvest Salad

My relationship with Orchard Harvest wasn't the whirlwind I'd had with Fuji. I think that kind of love happens once in a lifetime - if you're lucky. But Orchard Harvest and I built something, slowly, over time. These past few weeks I've found myself at Panera again and again, always for the salad with a side of Baked Potato soup. Our relationship based on trust and committment. Me & Orchard Harvest - we're good together. And I'm in this for the long haul.

Unless they bring back Fuji later this fall. In which case... sorry Orchard Harvest. But you can't fight your first love.

Headband Headache

This one is for all the ladies out there.


I don't want to complain about headbands. I love them. I am so glad they are back in style and available in a bevy of adorable colors, prints, and widths. However...



We all know how it feels. You're a few hours into your day, rockin' the cutest little headband to hold back your too long bangs or unwashed hair or to spruce up a ponytail (headbands cover a multitude of hair sins). Soon, however, you begin to feel it. The sides of your head, from your temples to your cheeks, start to ache. Sweet relief can be yours if you remove the headband, which you might do for a few minutes in the privacy of your own office, pressing your fingers into the tender indentations behind your ears. But you can't afford to be in comfort for long, because of course your hair has a permanent dent from where the headband was, or your bangs are now standing on end... and you just look really weird. So, back on goes the headband, which now instead of being your partner in cuteness is your enemy in the axis of pain.


Solutions have long been offered - a head scarf! An item which looks like a headband but has elastic in the back so it is soft! A bandana! I own all these things, and while they are cute in their own right, they come with their own problems. No pain - but then they're slipping off your head or causing the hair at the nape of your neck to bump up over the fabric making it look like you have a neck tumor. Just... so many problems.


So, here's the thing, headband makers of the world. Just, take a headband and hold it in your hands and look at it for a second. The space between the ear pieces is probably what... two inches? Now look at the average human head. It is probably a good 6 or 7 inches wide. So. You do the math. I understand it needs to be smaller to keep the tension to hold the hair down, but maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle. Because right now, my head is in the middle of a headband. And it is saying ouch.


P.S. Just like high heels, I will continue to wear headbands even though they cause me pain. Because they are adorable.

Nooooooooooooo

You know what is just depressing? That horrible sinking feeling of despair you get watching the clock slowly run out when your team is down. The long-awaited Red River Shootout game went to Texas today, with a final score of 45-35 against my beloved Oklahoma Sooners.

Sigh.

But I will say this - it was an incredible game to watch. There were amazing plays, good calls, bad calls, incredible quarterbacks and passes, and one ridiculous (but effective) injury fake by the OU punter. So no one likes to see their team defeated, but at least it was entertaining. Okay, I could've done without the last quarter.

Jim's Version of Battlestar Galactica

I took a break from watching the Twilight trailer last night to watch the new episode of The Office, and I just had to post this, my favorite scene. Maybe one of my new favorite scenes ever. I had to rewatch it a few times because the first time I was laughing so hard I couldn't hear half the jokes. Oh Office, I'm so glad you're back!

This One's For Rachel

...who of course started it all. It's also for Jen, Bethany, Lila, Anamarie, and Jenny. And my mom's middle school youth group girls.



EDIT 10/20: Added to the fold this week, my coworker Angilee. WELCOME TO THE SWOONING, my friend. Welcome.

EDIT 10/31: New addition to the fan list, our intern Sarah. Yaaaaay!

Just a Little Thing

Yesterday I came home and Scruffy had been up on the couch - not the "approved" couch with his blanket on it, but the other couch that was covered in piles for freshly cleaned clothes which Ben had folded earlier. So as I was righting the overturned stacks and straightening a few things that had come undone, I just thought... I love the way Ben folds my clothes. It's always a little bit off, never quite as straight and flat as mine turn out. But it's like he's folded each piece very thoughtfully and deliberately, every tank top and tee given equal attention, making little piles of my shirts and socks and underwear. Just a silly little domestic thing but it made me smile.

So thanks babe, for folding the clothes. And also I love you.